Shift: A Changing Wind
by Wyrenfire
Summary: When Windclan take desperate measures to save their clan, the ripples affect the fates of four young cats as they try to do what no clan cat has tried before, talk to the enemy. Before Rusty was born, before Skyclan left, prophecys were still coming true. Please review :-)
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

 **This is my first warrior cats fanfiction, so review are needed for me to improve.**

 **This is set many moons before Firestar came to the forest, so Skyclan is here and twoleg place isn't there yet.**

 **I don't own anything except my oc's and the plot.**

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Mistshadow's breaths billowed in front of her as she crept through the entrance of the camp, scenting the air and straining to pick up any sounds from sleeping cats. Nothing. She flicked her tail to tell her clanmates it was safe.

Two more cats, Buzzardheart and Frogfoot, crept through the entrance.

"Ahh, I hate these brambles, how can Thunderclan stand it!" Frogfoot whispered harshly as a thorn caught on his dark tabby coat. The sky was dark, darker still because of the new moon. _The perfect night for a raid,_ thought Mistshadow.

"Ok, me and Frogfoot will take as much freshkill as we can. Mistshadow, you need to steal a kit, get the youngest one you can see, we don't want it to remember Thunderclan." Buzzardheart directed, turning to the freshkill pile.

Mistshadow dashed across the clearing to the den that smelt of milk and young kits. Her heart raced as she ran, hoping Starclan would forgive her and her clan for this act of desperation. Windclan had been suffering from strange illness in their expecting she-cats, all the kits where born dead. At first, they thought it would past, but after three years of this, the clan had no young cats.

As she slid silently into the nursery and began comparing the ages of the kits, she was hit by a wave of sadness, remembering her still-born kits, wishing she had had the chance to know them and give them the life they should have had. She didn't even know if still-born kits with no names went to Starclan. Instead of wallowing in her grief, she pushed it aside.

She carefully stepped between the resting she-cats and their young, till she reached a nest with one moon old kits. Mistshadow recognise the she-cat as being Adderpelt, and at her belly where two small kits, one a russet red tabby, the other a dusty brown like her mother. Two she-cats, perfect, but she could only pick one.

She bent down and gently removed the tabby from the nest, turning and moving back to the entrance. Best to take the one that doesn't look like its mother.

Once out of the nursery, she glanced at her clanmates. They where stood at the camp entrance. Buzzardheart signalled for her to follow them out of the camp, their jaws too full of prey to talk.

She dashed up the slope with them, running back to her territory like a fox was on her tail. Her clanmates sleek forms ran alongside her in the dark. As she ran she ignored her conflicting emotions, focusing on her paws as they dodged the undergrowth of the unknown territory. The smell of herbs on her fur, the way her patrol had disguised their scent, stung her mouth.

When they reached Windclan camp, her jaw was hurting from holding the kit, who was well fed and heavy, and her paws were pricked with thorns. Her patrol walked into camp to find the three other patrols that had been sent to steal kits, had returned successfully and were gathered in a circle around the kits, the leader with them.

Mistshadow placed the tabby kit next to the three others on the ground, one from Riverclan, Shadowclan and Skyclan. All where still asleep.

"Well done warriors, four new kits for our clan. Each patrol will name the kit they found, then give them to Yarrowstem. After that you can eat and get some well earned rest." Meowed Cricketstar, looking hungrily at the kits, his yellow eyes shining with happiness.

Mistshadow looked down at her stolen kit, sadly knowing she would grow up believing Cricketstar and Yarrowstem were her parents. The clan had only taken this course of action now because two days ago Yarrowstem had given birth to Cricketstar's kits, still-born as always. This had driven Windclan's leader to desperate measures to give his mate kits they could raise. Many cats were angry at this but the clan can't risk stealing more kit for a long time yet. _It only matters when Cricketstar is affected, not all the other times kits are born dead,_ Mistshadow thought angrily.

The cats with food in their mouths went and placed it on the fresh-kill pile, then turned to the warriors den to sleep, uninterested in naming the kits. The remaining warriors sat down next to their respective kits and thought of a name.

Amberclaw , who had raided Shadowclan, licked the small black and white she-cat at his paws. "Her name is Badgerkit." He declared, picking her up and walking to the nursery.

"Eaglekit" Larkdawn said, picking the golden tabby tom kit from Riverclan and following Amberclaw.

"I will name him Wolfkit." Meowed Cloudjay, taking the gray Skyclan tom kit in her jaws and padding after them.

Feeling rushed, Mistshadow raked her mind for a name and blurted out, "Foxkit." _Because of the way this day will stalk me till I die._

She rushed after them into the nursery, where Yarrowstem was already licking the other kits tenderly. Mistshadow placed Foxkit next to her new sidlings and gave her a lick between the ears. Good luck, Foxkit, I hope you will one day forgive me for stealing your chance at a normal family.

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 **AN: I hope that was mistake free but probably not so please point out any mistakes, I will try to upload regularly, but life is unpredictable, so that might not work.**

 **Bye!**


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1:**

 **So here is the next chapter, hope you like it.**

 **I own nothing except my OCs and the plot.**

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Foxkit squealed as Wolfkit landed on her, squishing her against the floor of the camp. Her brother jumped off of her and once again began scrambling up the rock pile at the edge of the camp. The rock pile was only place in camp that they didn't get under everyone's paws, as there were no apprentices training as tunnelers that needed to use the rocks.

Badgerkit and Eaglekit were already at the top of the pile, so Foxkit scampered away to avoid being landed on again. Then she scrambled clumsily up the rock pile to join her siblings. As Foxkit waited for her turn to jump, paws tucked under her tail, Wolfkit tried to climb higher on the rock pile, dislodging small pebbles that hit Foxkit and Badgerkit on the back.

"Hey, Mother said not to climb that high!" Foxkit hissed angrily at her brother. He was always trying to be top of every activity they did, and would get angry if he didn't win.

"But it's so amazing, being up this high, it's like I can fly!" Meowed Wolfkit, reaching the top and looking around. Eaglekit began climbing up beside him. Eaglekit was the smallest of the litter, and he always followed his brother and sisters in what they were doing, but he had his own rebellious streak. Once he was found exploring outside of camp, at night!

Just as Eaglekit reached the top, Yarrowstem's yowl rang out over the camp, laced with inpatients.

"Kits, come here now!"

"Aww, but mother!" Exclaimed Wolfkit, jumping down swiftly from the rock pile, Eaglekit tumbling after him, "We were having fun, Eaglekit made it to the top!"

"I don't care if one of you made it to the moon, come here or no apprenticeship ceremony!" Hissed the golden tabby she-cat at the entrance to the nursery.

"She sounds serious, what did you do now Wolfkit?" Foxkit asked as they ran to their mother. Foxkit didn't like it when Mother's anger came out, she was like a different cat.

"Nothing, I promise, it must be something else." Wolfkit whispered to her as they approached Yarrowstem.

Her mother was sat watching them approach, and when they arrived she picked Eaglekit up and began to groom him, licking the dust off his fur. She paused, looked at the rest of them and said, " No need to look so scared, I just need to clean you up for the ceremony, you're going to be the first apprentices in this clan for three years!"

Then she went back to cleaning Eaglekit. Foxkit knew about the strange lack of kits that had plagued Windclan before they were born, but it had stopped now, mother had said.

Suddenly a patrol ran into camp, calling for her father, the leader. Foxkit only heard the last part of the report, that a fox had attacked the patrol, but had been defeated quickly.

" Ok, we will send more patrols over there to make sure it is gone, nothing to worry too much about." Cricketstar meowed to the warriors.

"But, Cricketstar, this attack... it was unusually aggressive, like it was targeting us!" Frogfoot pressed, fur spiked in agitation.

"It might have been hungry and desperate." Hedgelark, the deputy, meowed, stepping up beside her leader.

"It didn't look hungry!" Frogfoot snapped at her.

"Frogfoot, stand down, we will send more patrols, but no other action will be taken." Cricketstar meowed calmly.

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Foxkit felt like she might explode from excitement, _this was her apprentice ceremony, she would begin her training to be a warrior._ Her siblings looked to be in a similar mood, fidgeting on their feet where they were stood in front of the Tall Rock. The clan was gathered around the rim of the hollow in the middle of camp.

"Today I have the great pleasure of making my kits into our first apprentices for three years!" Cricketstar yowled happily to the gathered clan, who looked oddly angered by his statement. _Wonder who left a thorn in their bedding?_

"Wolfkit, come forward."

Wolfkit ran to his father and sat, excitedly awaiting his new name and mentor.

"Wolfkit, from this moment on, till you receive your warrior name, you are Wolfpaw, and your mentor is Cloudjay. The white she-cat looked surprised, but got up and padded over to Wolfpaw and they touched noses.

Cricketstar then went on to name Badgerpaw and Eaglepaw and assign Amberclaw and Larkdawn as their mentors respectively.

As her siblings moved of to the side with their mentors, Foxkit felt her nerves spike at being the center of attention, but she pushed the feeling down. _A warrior is never scared!_

"Foxkit, you are now Foxpaw and your mentor is Mistshadow!"

Foxkit ran over to the dark grey she-cat and touched noses with her. She didn't know Mistshadow very well, she never came to the nursery, but she was said to be a great hunter.

Behind her, yowls rang out from the watching clan.

"Hey, all those mentors are moor runners, tunnelers need apprentices too!" yowled Moleclaw, an old tunneler tom.

"Don't worry, my kits will be trained moor runners and tunnelers, given the circumstances." Cricketstar meowed. The warriors stopped shouting, but continued to whisper to the cats around them.

Foxkit paid no attention to them, instead she followed her menter out of camp to see the territory.

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 **AN: hope you like the new chapter**

 **Please review**

 **Bye!**


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